These same people may have more intense negative psychological reactions to horror films.Īccording to psychotherapist Margena Carter of Carter Care Therapeutic Services, there are pitfalls to watching horror films for some people. Simply put, highly sensitive people may struggle to process the intense images, and emotional and psychological arousal, that hyper frightening entertainment can bring about. People who have negative reactions to horror movies and super scary entertainment may have difficulty filtering out undesirable environmental stimuli, according to PsychCentral. So, there can be some benefits to being “safely scared.”īut PsychCentral reports that stress may be experienced differently for people who can't stand horror films. After all, a movie is ultimately entertainment, and not real life. The study’s authors suggest that horror films and entertainment involving extreme fear allow people to process the most difficult aspects of the human experience - like why unfair things happen to good people - within a protective container of sorts. Analysis of brain wave activity also suggested that brain reactivity was significantly decreased after experiencing the attraction in those who reported mood improvements, which is also reported in those who practice mindfulness meditation. Participants also reported that the process of experiencing fear in a controlled environment produced greater self-awareness as they confronted their fears. In fact, the more they experienced the house as being intense and scary, the better they felt afterwards. The attraction was, in a word, extreme, and “not for the faint of heart,” the Conversation reports.īut interestingly, researchers found that guests reported a significant uptick in positive moods after experiencing the haunted attraction. For a period of about 35 minutes, guests of the haunted house were exposed to disturbing characters and special effects, were also physically touched by the actors, and were even exposed to electrical shocks. In order to better understand why so many people love terrifying entertainment, a group of researchers recently set up a mobile lab in the basement of an adults-only haunted house attraction outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. William says.Īccording to the Conversation, there may be some benefits to seeking out fear for fun. 'They may be individuals who have a strong sense of morality who enjoy seeing wrongs being righted,' Dr. William further notes that people who like horror films might enjoy empathizing with the more complex characters often featured in the genre, while others might enjoy the hyper-stimulation and suspense of horror films. Madeline William, PsyD., a psychologist who treats patients via the telehealth app LiveHealth Online, tells Bustle via email. 'There are several personality characteristics that might attract certain people to the type of experience that a horror film can provide,' Dr. But if most of us fall somewhere on the spectrum between loving and hating them, what does hating horror movies say about your personality? Sure, a suspenseful film is fine, but gory slasher flicks? Hard pass. While lots of people love creepy horror movies, if you're anything like me, you probably can't stand them.

Horror movie effects on brain